Fault-based Cryptanalysis Research Articles

To infect or not to infect: a critical analysis of infective countermeasures in fault attacks

As fault-based cryptanalysis is becoming more and more of a practical threat, it is imperative to make efforts to devise suitable countermeasures. In this regard, the so-called “infective countermeasures” have garnered particular attention from the community due to its ability in inhibiting differential fault attacks without explicitly detecting the fault. We observe that despite being adopted over a decade ago, a systematic study of infective countermeasures is missing from the literature. Moreover, there seems to be a lack of proper security analysis of the schemes proposed, as quite a few of them have been broken promptly. Our first contribution comes in the form of a generalization of infective schemes which aids us with a better insight into the vulnerabilities, scopes for cost reduction and possible improvements. This way, we are able to propose lightweight alternatives of two existing schemes. Further, we analyze shortcomings of LatinCrypt’12 and CHES’14 schemes and propose a simple patch for the former.

Secure Method for Biometric-Based Recognition with Integrated Cryptographic Functions

Biometric systems refer to biometric technologies which can be used to achieve authentication. Unlike cryptography-based technologies, the ratio for certification in biometric systems needs not to achieve 100% accuracy. However, biometric data can only be directly compared through proximal access to the scanning device and cannot be combined with cryptographic techniques. Moreover, repeated use, improper storage, or transmission leaks may compromise security. Prior studies have attempted to combine cryptography and biometrics, but these methods require the synchronization of internal systems and are vulnerable to power analysis attacks, fault-based cryptanalysis, and replay attacks. This paper presents a new secure cryptographic authentication method using biometric features. The proposed system combines the advantages of biometric identification and cryptographic techniques. By adding a subsystem to existing biometric recognition systems, we can simultaneously achieve the security of cryptographic technology and the error tolerance of biometric recognition. This method can be used for biometric data encryption, signatures, and other types of cryptographic computation. The method offers a high degree of security with protection against power analysis attacks, fault-based cryptanalysis, and replay attacks. Moreover, it can be used to improve the confidentiality of biological data storage and biodata identification processes. Remote biometric authentication can also be safely applied.

Fault-tolerant Gaussian normal basis multiplier over GF(2 m )

Fault-tolerant design of a finite field multiplier is an efficient method for resisting fault-based cryptanalysis in Elliptic curve cryptosystems. A novel fault-tolerant bit-parallel Gaussian normal basis (GNB) multiplier with type-t over GF(2m), which can tolerate multiple module failures at one time, is presented. No hardware modification in the proposed GNB multiplier is required to achieve the fault-tolerant function. Hence, the proposed fault-tolerant GNB multiplier has low hardware cost. The reliability of the proposed fault-tolerant GNB multiplier with type-t increases as t increases. However, the behaviour of existing GNB multipliers with concurrent error correction (CEC) resembles triple modular redundancy (TRM) when t>3. In practice, most of suggested m's by NIST use GNB with type-t>3. The proposed fault-tolerant GNB multiplier is an N-modular redundancy (NMR) system with N=t. Thus, the proposed fault-tolerant GNB multiplier with type-t can tolerate at most t/2-1 failed modules simultaneously, while existing GNB multipliers with CEC only can tolerate one failed module. The proposed GNB multiplier requires less extra space and time complexities than similar multipliers. System reliability of the proposed fault-tolerant GNB multiplier is better than that of similar GNB multipliers.

Self-checking alternating logic bit-parallel Gaussian normal basis multiplier with type- t

This work develops a novel self-checking alternating logic (SCAL) bit-parallel Gaussian normal basis (GNB) multiplier with type-t over GF(2m). The proposed GNB multiplier is with both concurrent error-detection and off-line testing capabilities. The concurrent error-detection capability can give countermeasure to fault-based cryptanalysis. The off-line testing capability supports the design-for-test property. The proposed SCAL GNB multiplier can detect both permanent and transient faults. The proposed SCAL GNB is the first normal basis multiplier to have both on-line error-detection and off-line testing capabilities.

Concurrent error detection in semi-systolic dual basis multiplier over GF(2 m ) using self-checking alternating logic

Multiplication is one of the most important finite field arithmetic operations in cryptographic computations. Recently, the attacks of fault-based cryptanalysis have been a critical threat to both symmetrical and asymmetrical cryptosystems. To prevent such kind of attacks, masking faulty signals and outputting only correct ciphers would be a feasible solution, especially suitable for finite field multiplication. Therefore a novel dual basis multiplier in GF(2m) with concurrent error detection capability using self-checking alternating logic is presented. The new self-checking alternating logic dual basis multiplier saves about 67% space complexity as compared with other existing dual basis multiplier with concurrent error detection capability that uses the parity checking method. The proposed dual basis multiplier takes almost as low as one extra clock cycle to achieve concurrent error detection capability. Furthermore, any existing faults in fault model are ensured to be detectable through at least one input in the authors’ proposed scheme.

Concurrent error detection and correction in a polynomial basis multiplier over GF (2 m )

Finite-field arithmetic has been widely used to speed up the encryption and decryption processes in many cryptosystems, especially elliptic curve cryptosystems. Regular finite-field arithmetic structures are suitable for very large-scale integration implementation of cryptosystems, making them attractive for mobile commerce applications. Multiplication is the critical operation in finite-field arithmetic operations. Fault-based cryptanalysis is a new cryptanalysis method that deliberately injects faults into cryptographic devices, and requires only a small amount of side-channel information to break common ciphers. Thus, effective and simple methods for protecting the encryption/decryption circuitry from attackers are required to ensure that cryptographic devices can produce accurate signatures. This study presents a polynomial basis (PB) multiplier over GF(2m) with concurrent error detection (CED), and proposes a PB multiplier with concurrent error correction (CEC). A parallel structure of function cells is used in the proposed multiplier array to reduce the propagation delay. The proposed PB multiplier with internal parallel structure can reduce the time complexity by 28%, and reduce the space complexity by 90%, compared with existing PB multipliers. Compared with existing PB multipliers with CED, the proposed device with CED has a 20% greater space complexity but a 30% less time complexity. To the author's knowledge, there is no previous report of PB multipliers with CEC capability. The proposed PB multiplier with CEC capability has a space complexity of only about 10% more and requires five more clock cycles than the proposed device without CEC capability.

Concurrent Error Detection and Correction in Gaussian Normal Basis Multiplier over GF(2^m)

Fault-based cryptanalysis has been developed to effectively break both private-key and public-key cryptosystems, making robust finite field multiplication a very important research topic in recent years. However, no robust normal basis multiplier has been proposed in the literature. Therefore, this investigation presents a semisystolic Gaussian normal basis multiplier. Based on the proposed Gaussian normal basis multiplier, both concurrent error detection and correction capabilities can be easily achieved using time redundancy technology with no hardware modification.

Checking before output may not be enough against fault-based cryptanalysis

In order to avoid fault-based attacks on cryptographic security modules (e.g., smart-cards), some authors suggest that the computation results should be checked for faults before being transmitted. In this paper, we describe a potential fault-based attack where key bits leak only through the information whether the device produces a correct answer after a temporary fault or not. This information is available to the adversary even if a check is performed before output.